Whitewater Rafting in Colorado

Living in Colorado, we have the opportunity to take part in a variety of outdoor activities.  One of the things that we’ve been able to do several times over the years is to go whitewater rafting on the Arkansas river.  It is an exhilarating feeling as you bounce over the waves between the huge canyon walls, but make no mistake, it definitely has risks.  When our children were young, we had gone on what is called a “float trip”, where you don’t have to paddle and the currents are only strong enough to carry you down the river at a mild pace.  As they got older, we took them on the more adventurous trips where the degree of difficulty ranged from a class 3 to a class 5.  Class 5 is the highest degree of difficulty and therefore danger.

On the first trip through the Royal Gorge area, it was the two of us, our son, who is the oldest, and our youngest daughter.  It was a wonderful trip and ended without any incidents.  Definitely one of those wonderful memories that we look back upon with fondness, but not the nearly the same as our last whitewater rafting trip.  Our second time rafting down the Arkansas river and under the Royal Gorge Bridge is something that we will never forget and might likely be our last whitewater experience.

Our First Whitewater Rafting Trip

On this trip, we were taking our two daughters and our youngest, who played soccer, was nursing an injured ankle.  We knew that the conditions of the river could change based on time of year and the amount of runoff from the mountain snow, so we called the guide the morning of our trip to ensure that it would be okay for our youngest daughter to go since her ankle was wrapped in an ace bandage and sore.  They assured us that the water levels were down and that the river was more at a class 3 than a class 5.  We would later find out that they lied to us and that although the water levels were down, it was running fast and the lower water levels meant a higher degree of difficulty due to more exposed boulders in the water.

Despite our trepidation, we decided to go (always trust your gut intuitions).  The rafting trip started out normally with the typical thrills, but no spills.  Then as we approached one of the more difficult waterfalls that we would traverse during the trip, it was clear that this was going to be challenging.  There were several rafts within our tour group as well as other tour groups on the water this day and the rafts would go through the falls and then stop at the bottom until all of the boats were through the falls.  It was also the “photo shoot” spot where the tour companies took pictures to then later sell to you when the trip was over, so the pictures you see in the post are all ones that we purchased and obviously not ones we took ourselves.  Our raft was the “rescue boat”, which meant we would go down last and were poised to rescue anyone should the worst occur, but all of the rafts before us made it down without incident.

Before heading into the waterfall, our guide explained to us that we would be making an “S turn” through the falls, first heading to the right of a large boulder, then turning the boat to go in reverse as we went to the left, and then we would switch back to going forward as we made our way down the final section of the waterfall.  We made our way through the first section just fine and then started the backwards run through the second section.  This is when things went horribly wrong.  In what is apparently an extremely rare occurrence, as we passed below the boulder, the raft was grabbed by an eddy, an upstream current, that pulled the back of the raft up towards the rock pushing the front of the boat, which is now in the rear, down towards rushing water.  From this point forward, everything happened in extreme slow motion.

As the front of the raft was pulled down into the white water of the river, the water immediately overflowed the sides of the raft and Peter and our youngest daughter were sucked out of the boat and dragged under water.  Still in the boat, Dona and our oldest daughter were doing as instructed, which was to get as high on the raft, called getting high-side, in an attempt to stay in the raft as well as to hopefully keep it from flipping.  At this point, the guide did as he had been trained, which was to abandon the raft and swim towards shore.  You can’t save anyone else if you don’t save yourself first, this was something that we were all instructed prior to starting our trip.  Dona and our oldest daughter were flung into the swirling water as the raft did indeed flip over.

Our Raft Immediately After Flipping

Once in the water, everything became very disorienting.  Peter’s sandal had gotten caught on a rock and he was trapped, being pushed face down by the rushing water.  Dona slammed against rocks as the water pushed her away from the raft.  Finally, after a few terrifying moments, Peter’s sandal ripped due to the force of the water dragging at his body and he was freed to pop up to the surface.  Now we were both above water and finally able to take in just exactly what was occurring.  We both immediately looked for our daughters, but there was no sign of either of them.  We weren’t aware of it at that moment, but they had been pulled by the same eddy that had grabbed the boat and pulled towards the boulder and were now underneath the flipped raft.  We can’t describe the terror of coming to the surface, both of us having barely been able to rip ourselves from the current, only to have no sight of our daughters.

At this point the guides on the shoreline were throwing ropes out to pull people to safety.  In addition to the four of us, there was another couple on our raft with us, so a total of six people.  The other couple had also come to the surface and then, suddenly, our daughters emerged from underneath the raft.  At first there was a sense of relief, but that only lasted a moment.  As they emerged, the water started pulling them down towards the waterfall.  The guides tried throwing rescue ropes out to them, but they were unable to grab them.  So, as we were being pulled toward the shore, we watched helplessly as our daughters were swept out of sight and over the waterfall.  We had been told at the onset of the trip to be sure to hold on to our paddles as they were needed to help guide us through the rapids and if you look carefully at the photo of our oldest daughter, you’ll notice that she still has the paddle in hand as she heads down toward the waterfall.

Our Oldest Daughter Emerging from the Raft

Hearts racing, we swam to shore and then walked down along the river to the bottom of the falls where all of the other rafts were waiting.  We didn’t see our daughters at first, but finally we saw that they’d been pulled into other rafts.  Our raft had made its way over the falls as well and our guide now assisted us and the other couple into the raft as there was only one way to get home, to continue on the river in our raft.  At a calmer section of the river, our daughters were transferred from the rafts that had rescued them and back into our raft and we were finally reunited.

Our Youngest Daughter Heading Towards the Waterfall

There were a couple of close calls as we continued down the river, but fortunately we didn’t get dumped out of the raft again.  As we got onto the bus that would take us back to the parking lot where our car was parked, the guide smiled at us and welcomed us the “Arkansas river swim club”, it was and wasn’t funny.  We’re not sure if it was a blessing or a curse that all of this occurred at the photo shoot spot where it could be captured for all time, but we don’t need any pictures to remember that trip.  Every second of it is permanently seared in our memories and we haven’t been white water rafting since.

The Snæfellsnes Peninsula – Iceland in Miniature

Our last full day in Iceland was also one of our busiest and most rewarding. It started out a little stressful as we woke to a fresh five or six inches of snow on the roads and we had a two and half to three-hour drive to peninsula ahead of us.  We had rented a 4WD SUV just in case something like this happened, after all we were in Iceland, but that doesn’t mean that it can get through anything.  We asked several people at the hotel if they thought the road conditions would be okay for us to make it the peninsula and they all said that it might be “a little icy”, but that we should be fine.  Since we live in Colorado, we’ve probably told people something similar when we’ve had a few inches of snow, but we’ll probably think twice about saying that again in the future.

Thawing Roads
Snæfellsjökull from the Distance
Dramatic Volcano Crater

It was still dark out when we hit the roads and it was white knuckle driving as we made our way out of Reykjavik.  Once we got out of town and the skies started to lighten up, the roads got a little better, but we would deal with icy roads for most of the day.  The drive to the peninsula took us back through the town of Borgarnes where we turned off of the Ring Road (the road that circles the entire island) and headed west.  Once we turned off of the Ring Road, we were pretty much the only car on the road, which was a little unnerving to be out in the middle of nowhere with no one else around.  Despite the fact that the Snæfellsnes peninsula is considered “Iceland in Miniature” due to all of the sites that can be seen, it is also one of the least spots travelled to by tourists, perhaps because they have to leave the Ring Road.  As you can tell by the varied scenery in the pictures, it really is an amazing place to see so many different sights.

Some of the Few Trees We Saw in Iceland
Sunrise During Our Drive
Driving Towards the Park
Dramatic Lava Lined Beaches

One notable feature that is visible from everywhere on the peninsula is the Snæfellsjökull volcano which has a glacier that covers its cap.  It is the highest mountain on the peninsula and can be seen from the Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavik on a clear day.  It was the inspiration for Jules Verne’s “A Journey to the Center of the Earth” and was the location where the expedition started their trek below the earth.  The Snæfellsjökull National Park takes you around the volcano and along the ocean and has some pretty incredible views.  All national parks in Iceland are free, so they are definitely worth visiting.  In order to get into the park, you have to drive over a pass on the edge of the volcano, which was covered in ice while we were there and made for some nervous driving conditions.  With all of the active volcanos in Iceland and the land littered with huge lava boulders found miles from the volcano calderas, one can only imagine the potential devastation if one of the larger volcanos were to erupt.

Snæfellsjökull Towering Over Lake
Another Volcano During Our Drive
Church and Farm
Rugged Beach

The first stop, as we drove along the peninsula heading towards the park, was the town of Hellnar.  It is really only a few buildings and a café that was closed while we were there.  During the summer, you can book tours up to the top of Snæfellsjökull in order to see the glacier.  The main attractions here are the beautiful little church, the views of the ocean, and all of the birds that make the area their home.  The sun actually came out for a little bit, making it a cheery spot to visit.  As you can tell from our pictures throughout the trip, the sun made few appearances for us and when it did, clouds returned within a few hours to blanket the sky.  Unfortunately for us, the weather and a less than active solar period kept us from seeing the Northern Lights, which was probably our only disappointment of the trip.

Us at Hellnar
View from Hellnar
The Old Church in Hellnar
Lava Rocks

From Hellnar, we continued along the coast to Malariff, where there is a lighthouse, and Lóndrangar, which are a couple of rock pinnacles that jut out along the rugged coastline.  The rock formations are interesting and lighthouses are always nice, but otherwise it wasn’t anything too impressive.  We continued on and entered the national park, always with Snæfellsjökull looming above us as we drove around the coastline.  As you reach the northern end of the park, there is a road that heads west to the ocean and one of the many lighthouses on the island.  You travel across a lava field and have some beautiful views of the ocean crashing against the black lined coast.  After driving for twenty minutes, we turned around as the road conditions just kept getting worse and worse.

Lighthouse at Malariff
Rock Formations at Lóndrangar
Lava Fields
Dramatic Coastline

Once we reached the main road once again, we could see the most western portion of the Westfjords towering over the ocean water.  Knowing that we still had about a four hour drive ahead us, we started heading back to grab a late lunch at the Hotel Búðir.  On the way, we saw what looked like steam coming off of some of the lower peaks of Snæfellsjökull, which was a little unnerving to think that there was any chance that there could be anything active on the giant volcano.  Although it was probably just a cloud that settled on the mountain, we were happy to make our way out of the area.  Our lunch was wonderful, probably because we were extremely hungry from hiking around the different locations where we stopped.  The hotel was truly charming, the staff incredibly friendly and if we’re ever back in the area, we would definitely considering staying with them.

Road to the Lighthouse
Rock Cliffs on the Side Road
Steam or Cloud?
Nesting Place for Birds

All in all, it was a perfect way to end our brief trip to Iceland.  We know that we’ll be back again, perhaps in the fall, when things might not be as frozen, but there still might be a chance to see the Northern Lights.  We’re glad we chose to make the drive across the frozen tundra and frozen roads to see everything that the peninsula had to offer.  After driving back to Reykjavik, we were thoroughly exhausted, but satisfied.  Our time in Iceland is something that we will obviously never forget.

Westfjords Across the Bay
Us on the Coastal Road
Amazing Black Beach

 

Burro Trail in Breckenridge, Colorado

We spent a long weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado and one of our main priorities was to get out and do some hiking. Breckenridge has many options for hiking trails, so we chose one that was near where we were staying called Burro Trail. The trail is considered moderate and has some beautiful scenery, including following a stream for much of it. The overall elevation gain wasn’t too bad, although it was steep in some places, which is pretty normal for any hike in the Colorado mountains.

Hiking Through the Woods
Crossing a Stream on the Way to the Trailhead
Looking Up Through the Trees
Roots Across the Trail
Purple Wildflowers

In order to get to the trailhead, we had to take a smaller trail that wound its way through the woods near our condominium. Although not part of Burro Trail, it was also quite beautiful, winding through meadows, woods, and crossing several streams. Once on the actual trail, we hiked through pine tree forests and saw a variety of wildflowers as well as some wild berries. The weather was absolutely perfect with mild temperatures and sunny skies. Burro Trail is an “out and back” trail that is a little over 6 miles in length if you do the entire trail. We didn’t go to the very end, but close enough to give us a good 3 1/2 hour hike.

Wild Berries
Hiking Along the Stream
Getting into the Mountains
One of the Flat Areas on the Trail
Rushing Water

As with many trails in the mountains, we came across a few other hikers, but for the most part we were alone to enjoy the tranquility of nature. We didn’t come across any wildlife during our hike, but we were told that moose are particularly active around Breckenridge this time of year. With such beautiful scenery, Burro Trail was a perfect hike to start our time in Breckenridge. It was strenuous enough to get our legs tired and earn a couple of craft beers.

Bridge on the Trail Before Burro Trail
Wonderful Hike
Water Flowing Over Rocks
Colorful Wildflowers
Hiking Through a Meadow